THE WINDSOR FACTION

by D.J. Taylor

978-1-60598-478-0

376pp/$25.95/September 2013

In December, 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne of Great Britain
in order to marry the American widow, Wallis Simpson. In D. J.
Taylor's version of history, Simpson died from a botched surgery and
December 1936 saw her funeral, and led to King Edward becoming a reclusive
monarch shortly before Britain was about to become embroiled in the second
World War. Although Edward plays a role in the novel, Taylor prefers
to focus his attention on two private individuals, Cynthia Kirkpatrick and
Beverley Nichols.

Much of the novels is set against the banalities of life. Cynthia
finds a job working for a start up magazine, Duration, founded by the
milquetoast Desmond, which serves as a literary center for the action of the
novel. Desmond's staff and partners attempt to continue their
life-as-normal despite the privations of the war, and must battle government
censors and deal with the inflated coast of paper in order to publish their
issues. Cynthia also finds herself embroiled with Tyler Kent, an American
cipher clerk who may be involved in unwarranted activities in support of the
Germans. The scenes of her life depict a London suffering from the
distant war, with rationing, blackout curtains, and foreign airman who are
fighting, or hoping to fight from England rather than their own occupied
countries. Nevertheless, the London she moves through feels more empty
than a city at war.

Nichols's story is told in the form of entries in his diary, from the
banal hobnobbing with celebrities and writing his columns for various
publications to his being summoned by King Edward VIII to ghost write the
King's Christmas address for 1939. While the counterfactual history of
Cynthia's storylines tends to be subtle, Nichols's collaboration with King
Edward opens a door for Taylor to provide a look at the changes that
Simpson's death brought about in this timeline.

Perhaps one of the books strongest points is the insidious growth of
Archibald Ramsay's movement. When the book opens, Ramsay is merely an
anti-Semitic conspiracist who happens to be a back bench member of
Parliament. As the book continues, his continual appearances within
all of the story lines, focusing on King Edward VIII, Cynthia, and Nichols
reflects his slow, but inexorable rise to greater influence. Taylor's
refusal to incorporate Ramsay as a point of view character, but
":merely" a support character, lulls the reader into
underestimating his importance.

One of the strengths of The Windsor Faction is that although there
is a war on, Taylor eschews descriptions of battles and military action,
instead focusing on the way life is altered, or not altered, for those on
the home front. The change is subtle, but it does exist, and as the
novel begins its final chapters, the change becomes more pronounced and
begins to influence the common people more and more. The death of
Wallis Simpson expands from being a personal loss to the king to having more
political impact, not just on who rules the kingdom, but on the way the
members of Parliament are able to push their agenda.